Chapter 19: Unknown entity

It was late at night, and Sage, intending to take a short walk into the woods, got lost in her thoughts and wandered deep into the forest.

Her train of thought was interrupted when it seemed like she could hear the sounds of every animal in the woods. Sage heard a loud growl from her right side but dismissed it as Bruno just seeking attention. However, when the growl sounded again and Bruno bolted, breaking free from his leash, Sage's attention shifted.

At that moment, she directed her gaze to where the growl had originated and spotted a big black wolf vigorously shaking its head and trying to rub its paw against its head.

This reminded Sage about the wolf she came across the other night.

'Since when did wolves start getting this huge?' she wondered.

Sage tried to move away from the wolf as quietly as she could to avoid drawing its attention. However, while attempting to walk backward, she inadvertently stepped on a dry branch, which snapped loudly in the silent woods.

Immediately, the wolf ceased its movements and fixed its gaze on the direction of the sound. Sage took a sharp breath the moment she locked eyes with the wolf.

"Heaven save me!" Its eyes were completely black, with its iris glowing a dark shade of red. This animal looked like a monster straight out of a nightmare. It was nothing like the one she had encountered before.

Frozen in fear, Sage didn't realize that the wolf had launched at her with its paws until its claws tore through the skin on her face, leaving three large slashes.

"Ouch!" Sage yelped in pain. Despite the injuries, she began to heal quickly.

Without giving Sage a chance to flee or retaliate, the savage animal opened its jaws wide, aiming to bite down on her shoulder. Acting on instinct, Sage stepped aside and attempted to strangle the wolf, but her fingers couldn't encircle its neck completely.

Summoning all her strength, she pushed the animal away, causing it to collide with a nearby tree.

The wolf growled as it quickly recovered, seemingly powered by an unknown force, because it felt no pain nor was it giving itself a break.

At this point, Sage was breathing hard, she had no idea why she had not run yet. If she did, the wolf would just run after her and her back would be open to any kind of attack from it. If she couldn't outrun it, then it was better she faced it.

As the wolf got up, it ran towards her and pounced on her, pinning her down to the ground. It stood above her with its paw crushing the bones in her hands. Sage grimaced as the wolf's saliva dripped onto her face.

"Gross," Sage muttered, trying to avoid the spit from dropping into her mouth. The wolf had pinned her hands, which were now broken, but her legs were free. Using her knee, Sage struck the wolf's rib, but it barely flinched. Undeterred, she continued her assault until it turned, trying to attack her leg. Unknown to the animal, Sage was still aiming to hit its rib with her knee.

The last kick was now aimed at the wolf's face which ...... Sage used the opportunity to try and escape. The bones in her hand that had been crushed by the weight of the werewolf had regenerated back, and Sage used them to aid herself in standing up.

She had successfully gotten herself up and was about to put some distance between herself and the wolf when it slashed at her left ankle with its claw. She yelped in pain yet again wishing to wake up from this nightmare.

Sage had taken a lot of damage from the wolf, and her body was now regenerating slowly. Seeing that she would not be able to move fast, Sage sat back on the floor and used her right leg to push the werewolf back.

It skidded until its back hit a tree that stopped its movement. Sage leaped in the air and jumped onto the werewolf. Her fingers elongated, sharpening into lethal claws. With reflexive precision, she slashed at the animal until it lay motionless on the forest floor.

When Sage's body sensed the imminent threat, her first instinct was to escape, but that wouldn't be of any help. She had a sudden rush of energy. Her heart pounded in her chest, her senses heightened, each sound and sight intensified. With the adrenaline rush, Sage's fear turned into an unknown strength.

The rush had caused her to transform a bit in her fingers which she used as a weapon to defeat the savage animal.

Sage, breathing hard, stared at the animal which lay lifeless on the floor; she noticed it was healing from the wounds she'd inflicted on it. "Why is it healing? Like me," Sage wondered.

She knew some animals had regenerative abilities, but this wolf was healing as quickly as she did. Sage took a walk to clear her head, but now she only had more questions she needed answers to.

Even though the wolf was healed now, it didn't get up; instead, something horrific came out of it. Sage watched as black smoke rushed out of every opening in the wolf's head.

The black smoke slowly took form, and the sight of it sent shivers down her spine. The entity had eyes like burning flame; its body was made out of the black wispy smoke which hovered in the air. Its hand and leg were not a consistent form as they flickered in and out of its main body.

When the entity opened its mouth to scream, it was like a thousand different voices in one.

'What the hell is this?' Sage wondered as she stared in horror regretting having beat the wolf to a pulp or even leaving the house. If she hadn't defeated the wolf, this menacing creature wouldn't have appeared and if she didn't leave the house for a walk, she would never have come across the wild werewolf. Again she wished to wake up from this nightmare.

The entity now hovering in the air screamed at Sage, its voice ringing loudly in her ears. Her senses were a bit heightened which made her block her ears from the sound. While Sage was distracted by the sounds, the entity charged at her.

Sage took her hand from her ears and crossed them in front of her as she awaited the impact from the entity with her eyes closed. Sage didn't feel anything at the calculated moment of impact. She opened her eyes to see what was happening. The entity had passed through her.

When she opened her eyes, she saw herself standing still in the pose she took while awaiting impact from the entity. When the entity passed through her, it brought out her consciousness from her physical form. Sage was now going through an out-of-body experience. When she realized what it was, she panicked.

So far, she had been calm and composed, but seeing her body standing there and her astral floating in the air away from it threw her off.

"Am I dead?" Sage looked around; she was still in the woods. However, the entity was not there.

"No, no, no," Sage tried to float back to her body. She went around it to the front; her eyes were open, but they had gone completely black, and they were not reflecting light.

Sage's astral form placed its hand on its body, wishing to reunite, and was sucked back in.

"Ahh...," Sage shouted in pain as she fell on her back. "It hurts." She had successfully gone back into her body, but the pain that came with it was severe.

This happened because when the entity passed through her, it didn't go out through the other side. Instead, it pushed her out of her body and tried to control it. However, it couldn't, and the only thing it could do was flick her eyes open.

Sage herself had forcefully gone through her body, which contained the entity. Reintegration was not something Sage had done before, so this caused her severe pain.

Sage's eyes dimmed slowly as she looked at the sky, tears running down her face. The entity, which had come out of her body when she forcefully entered, loomed over her, a sinister presence in the darkness, as Sage fought to regain her strength and composure. Weakened and shaken, Sage gazed up at the sky, tears streaming down her face. The entity, which had come out of her body when she forcefully entered, loomed over her, a sinister presence in the darkness, as Sage fought to regain her strength and composure. She couldn't stand up on her feet but painfully crawled to a tree and rested herself against it.